(allAfrica) – As he returned home from school, Emmanuel Habimana met a group of men who ordered him to carry luggage they had with them back to their base in Rutchuru, Northern Kivu, in the eastern swathes of DR Congo. These men were from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). Habimana was just 15 and in Primary Five at Karembe Primary School in Northern Kivu. “It took us two days on foot to get to their base. Until then, I thought I would be let free after I had abided by their order. I was wrong, they told me I could not leave,” said Habimana, who has since escaped and is at a support facility where child soldiers from the militia are rehabilitated before being integrated back into the community.
